Fit For Mission

-- April 20th, 2008
First Peter 2:2-10 and John 14:1-14
Pastor John Nelson

For the past two days the Minneapolis Area Synod was gathered in assembly at St. Andrews Lutheran Church in Eden Prairie. It was a long, but invigorating two days of lectures, presentations, and conversations on how we are the church together. Does anyone here get excited about church meetings? Well, normally I can see your point but there were reasons to get excited when you heard how so many people are active and excited about sharing the good news of Jesus through their words and through their actions.

We talked about gathering as God’s people in the word, “The book of faith initiative.” This is an initiative to get people back in the Bible. So many people have a hard time reading the Bible and as a church we want to make a concerted effort to show people how to read the Bible, apply it to their daily life and make it not so burdensome but life giving. We are doing it here at Gethsemane right now. Do any of you know about the Behold Bible Study? Every Thursday at 10am and 7pm we hold a Bible study on the scripture lessons for the up coming Sunday. I challenge you right now we have about 10 in each class but I want to see that room filled, filled to the point where we have to move to the fellowship hall, and from there to the sanctuary. I want to show you how to be engaged but the scriptures in life changing ways. You are all invited to come and look at texts like this. In 1 Peter the text says; “Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you might proclaim the mighty deeds of him who called you out of darkness into the marvelous light.” Do you feel ready to do that? Does that excite you?

Are you “Fit for Mission?” How is your spiritual health? How is your faith life? How is your prayers life? Are you being fed spiritually, are you being engaged by God’s word? Are you reading the bible? Are you growing, praising, serving, and telling? Our church council is in the beginning stages of developing a 5 Year Plan for our congregation. So far we feel that the top priority this year will be to help identify characteristics of a Christian faith. What does it look like, what are some habits of can active Christian, beyond Sunday and well into Monday.

I was at the conference with Art Adamson’s, one of our church delegates. He made the comment when we were talking about living a life as a Christian; “I need you to challenge me.” Well, you got it Art. But so do the rest of you. If you have not figured it out by now I am going to challenge you, constantly. What are you doing to grow in your faith, and what are you doing for the sake of the gospel? More importantly, would anyone know?

Bishop Hanson’s told the story how he had gone into a grocery store and instantly noticed a Jewish man because he had on a head covering. He then say a Muslim man who had on a turban and he knew something about these individuals faith. It was evident. Then he thought to himself, we Christians need to get some head gear! “We need some head gear!” What are the identify marks you carry as a Christian? If you were to be accused, is there any evidence against you that you are a Christian? Do any of you wear a cross to identify you as a Christian? And if you see one do you ever make a comment about it? My surprise me God experience was, why don’t I? I decided that from now on when I see someone wearing a cross I am going to ask people, “how is your faith life?” I have a friend back in Colorado named Greg Schirer. He was a camp councilor, youth director and in that time got used to wearing a large wooden cross around his neck. When he went to work for Hewett Packer he still wore his cross like anywhere else. One day someone asked him why he wore such a big cross and he said, “Because I’ve got a Bog God.”

We need to be fit for mission. John 14: “Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also so the works that I do, in fact, they will do greater works than these, because I am going to the father.” Greater works, that sounds like a challenge doesn’t it? That sounds like a whole lot of responsibility, greater works than Christ.

John 14:1-2a; “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” Believe, that is the active verb here, believe. “Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.” Now this text is often read at funerals and brings great comfort to people, knowing that Christ has gone on to prepare a place for us and there are many rooms in God’s house. But this is not only talking about heaven. This is God’s house as well. This is God’s dwelling place and Christ is reminding us there are many rooms here in this church for all of God’s people.

That is the challenge to Gethsemane. Our challenge is to move from who we are to what we are becoming.
“Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people.” We area called to welcome all, not just those like us. We hear “You are a chosen race” and we get tripped up.

I once served another church where there was a group of good old Swedes. It was in north Minneapolis at Salem Lutheran Church. As the years went by the community changed and the congregation realized they needed to change with it. They through open their doors and welcomed in people of many colors and traditions. In doing so they also had to welcome in their expressions of faith. I will never forget on small Native American girl with an angelic voice. She sang “O Holy Night” in the Christmas play and everyone was amazed. Nine years later she is now a sophomore in college and writing street poetry. This piece that I share with you now is one Brenda Blackhawk, wrote entitled “Racial Battlefield.”

Racial Battlefield

It’s your style; your race; whether your rich or poor
What you’re aware of every time you walk out your door
You’re headed out, just trying to get places
Yet the streets are filled with voices and faces
Faces to your left, and faces to your right
Pale as the moon, compared to yours; dark as night
They taunt and tease trying to hold you down
So you proudly wear the color of your skin just like a crown
Whether you be black, red, yellow, white or brown

So many of us use our race as a barrier and a shield
And it’s a weapon that we’re never afraid to wield
So the streets quickly become a dangerous battlefield
With bloody sidewalks and wounds that don’t heal
So now it’s time to drop the barriers and learn to yield
I said, now it’s time to drop the barriers and learn to yield

Cuz once these walls come crashing to the ground
We will find all there is to be found
Our vision will clear so we can see we were wrong
Stereotypes, prejudices, biases: gone
To create one whole people and a brotherhood that’s strong
No longer will we view the world in colors
We will, instead, see ourselves in others

For what defines a person lies not in their skin
Or the blood running through them or their kin
Its their confidence, their beliefs, their hopes, their dreams
Perhaps even their eccentricities, oddities and schemes
Whatever it is, it’s not simply what society deems
It is not a curse to be born with or live with in despair
Rather, it is the gifts in this life each of us brought to share
What we are offering the world to make it a better place
And that’s despite our style, our class, our color, our race

“Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; for “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.” We are the church together.

Lowell Erdahl is here today to help us continue to talk in our adult forum about Christian perspectives concerning Homosexuality and how this debate becomes a dividing line in the church. Another shield we wield but Christ reminds us, “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.” “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe. Believe in God, believe also in me.” Are we fit or mission or a fight. The gospel fits us to welcome, to debate, to live with our differences because, “Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people. A holy Nations fit to proclaim!”

We all need to face the facts of our spiritual health, start getting fit, and focus on going out in mission to proclaim the mighty deeds of our God. It’s by the grace of God that we become “Fit For Mission.” I am betting Art is not the only one who needs someone to challenge him. We all do, and that is also the work of the church. That means that we come here to grow and are then set free to go outside those doors and create the body of Christ together.

ELCA has a new motto, “God’s work, our hands.” Well, I say let’s get busy! Amen.